It’s not unheard of for kind strangers to go out of their way to rescue a lost dog or even a wild animal like a raccoon, but it’s not every day that you’ll find someone willing to risk their life to save a crocodile.
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Then again, not everyone is like Tili from Indonesia. When he’s not working as a bird merchant, he can often be found rescuing reptiles of all kinds, including snakes and crocodiles.
But his biggest save to date was six years in the making.
In 2016, residents near the Palu River spotted a crocodile with a tire around its neck, earning him the name “the crocodile with a tire necklace.”
Locals grew to love the trapped creature, and officials and conservationist groups worried he would choke once he grew to his full size of 13 feet. Several attempts were made to free him, but the croc got away each time. Even Matt Wright, an Australian crocodile wrangler, ended up failing.
That’s when Tili stepped up.
“I caught the crocodile by myself,” he said. “I was asking for help from people here but they were scared.”
During his first two attempts, the ropes he used weren’t strong enough to contain the massive creature. So on his third attempt, he went with something much stronger: Nylon ropes used for tugging boats.
But the ropes alone wouldn’t be enough. In order to lure the crocodile close enough for him to be captured, Tili used chicken as bait… and it worked!
At this point, Tili had caught the attention of several bystanders. But instead of just standing by and watching, dozens of them joined in on what had become a three-week-long rescue mission.
First, they helped drag the crocodile to shore. Once his jaws were securely shut tight with a rope, Tili used a saw to remove the tire.
After a few loving pets for the frightened croc, he was returned back to the river a much happier fellow.
“I did not learn this anywhere,” Tili said of his crocodile rescuing prowess. “I just can’t stand to see animals hurt.”
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